After 40 hours researching and testing 11 flash drives, we found that the 64 GB Kingston DataTraveler Elite G2 is the one to get. It is fast, reliable, and inexpensive, and has a textured metal case that makes it easier to insert or remove from your USB port than the slippery plastic cases of most flash drives.

Buying Options

The 64 GB Kingston DataTraveler Elite G2 was the fastest, most consistent flash drive we tested, and it usually costs less than $30, around the same price as other similarly sized models. The metal casing has excellent build quality, but it’s not so large it’ll block any USB ports on your laptop. It also has a five-year warranty and a blinking blue LED indicator that lets you know when the drive is active. But its small, untethered cap is easy to misplace.

Buying Options

If you need a tiny flash drive to keep on a keyring, or plugged into a laptop as semi-permanent storage, we recommend the thumbnail-sized 128 GB Samsung Fit Plus. It had some of the fastest read speeds of all the drives we tested, but its small file write speeds were about 30 percent slower and its large file write speeds almost 50 percent slower than the DataTraveler Elite G2 in our tests. Its fast read speeds are ideal for expanded storage, but its slow write speeds mean transferring files to the Fit Plus takes considerably longer than to our other picks—which is fine if you’re just using it as extra storage for your laptop. Like most drives of this size, the Fit Plus lacks an indicator light. It comes with a five-year warranty.

Buying Options

If you frequently move large files between computers and need more storage, the 128 GB SanDisk Extreme Go is the best high-capacity flash drive we tested. (Though if you’re moving large files daily, you may be better off spending more for a portable SSD, which is almost eight times faster at writing files.) The Extreme Go had the fastest write speeds of the 128 GB drives we tested and quick read speeds, plus it costs about as much as its closest competition. The Extreme Go’s plug retracts into its case, so unlike the Kingston, there’s no small cap to lose. But its durable plastic case is chunky enough to block nearby ports on some laptops, and its indicator light “breathes” constantly when the drive is inactive. SanDisk’s lifetime warranty is the best around, beating out Samsung’s and Kingston’s five-year warranties.

Why not USB-C?

While we would have liked to recommend an option that works with USB-C without needing a USB-C to USB-A adapter, every USB-C flash drive we’ve tested to date has been slow or poorly made. We will update as soon as we find one worth recommending.

Why you should trust us

I’ve been covering consumer technology for a decade, and Wirecutter’s PC team has researched and tested hundreds of flash drives over the past five years. Before Wirecutter, I wrote for how-to and technology site Lifehacker. I bought my first flash drive for college in 2002, and the 32 MB drive required me to jump through a series of driver hoops to get it to work properly with Windows ME.

Who this is for

A flash drive—aka thumb drive or memory stick—is one of the easiest ways to move large amounts of data from one computer to another locally. Unlike with online cloud storage services, you don’t need to worry about login credentials, slow connection speeds, or having someone snoop on your activity. With a flash drive, you walk from one computer to another. Thumbnail-sized drives are also useful for adding extra storage to laptops when you need extra space but don’t want to lug around an external drive.

Since flash drives are best used as temporary storage—and they seem to disappear like cheap pens—it makes sense not to spend too much on one.

For the occasional data swap between computers, you don’t need a fancy new high-speed flash drive. Dig around in the bottom of a laptop bag for a generic freebie drive you might have picked up somewhere. But if you’re going to buy a flash drive, don’t buy a USB 2.0 drive—they’re too slow and you’ll save only a few bucks.

If you regularly move large sets of data from one device to another—say, complete seasons of TV shows, or large media files like RAW photos and video—and you have a USB 2.0 drive, you should upgrade. The time you save waiting for large copy jobs is well worth parting with a few dollars.

Since flash drives are best used as temporary storage—and they seem to disappear like cheap pens—it makes sense not to spend too much on one. Plus, price isn’t always the best indicator of performance, and expensive drives aren’t always worth the money: If you need ultrafast write speeds or more than 128 GB of storage, you’re better off spending more for a portable solid-state drive that can write files almost eight times as fast, and read them around twice as fast.

How we picked

Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald

A flash drive is something you shouldn’t have to think much about, but here’s what to look for:

Price: Most people shouldn’t pay more than $25 to $35 for a 64 GB flash drive or $40 to $50 for a 128 GB flash drive. When you spend more, you may get faster speeds, hardware encryption, or more durable cases, but none of those features are enough of an improvement to justify spending more unless you have a specific use in mind.

Capacity: If you’re transferring a few files back and forth, like movies or music, then 64 GB is plenty for most people, and smaller capacity drives aren’t as cost effective. If you’re moving larger, non-compressed or lossless files or entire game folders, it may be worth getting a 128 GB flash drive. Larger flash drives exist, but if you need more than 128 GB, you’re better off getting a portable solid-state drive instead.

Drive speed: Good flash drives have fast sequential read speeds (for accessing data on the drive) and adequate sequential write speeds (for writing data to the drive). Write speeds are always lower and can vary based on the type of memory and controller a drive uses. Flash drives should maintain fast performance during large file transfers, but copying tons of small files is always slower than moving a couple of equivalent large files. Copying files to and from a flash drive won’t be as fast as moving them between SSDs, but it shouldn’t be unbearably slow. USB 3.1 gen 1 and USB 3.0 have the same speed caps, and we haven’t seen any flash drives that support the faster USB 3.1 gen 2.

Connection type: For now, you should stick to a flash drive with a traditional USB-A connection. You can buy USB-C flash drives compatible with the ports on MacBooks and some Windows laptops, but so far every USB-C flash drive we’ve tested is slow and poorly made. Instead, we recommend using our picks with a USB-C to USB-A adapter.

Size and build quality: A flash drive should fit into a port properly and be easy to handle. Too bulky, and you’re liable to block other inputs or damage ports as you squeeze the drive in. The flash drive should also be durable enough to toss into a bag without breaking. We considered both traditional stick flash drives and smaller, thumbnail-sized drives. Thumbnail drives are even easier to lose than their bulkier counterparts and are usually a little slower, so they’re not useful for everyone.

Warranty and customer service: Three- to five-year warranties are standard among USB flash drives from major manufacturers. More than anything, they show a company will at least stand by their product for a few years. Strong customer service is also valuable if something goes wrong.

We investigated the most popular flash drives on Amazon and looked through websites of reliable storage companies like Samsung, SanDisk, and Kingston. Alongside over one hundred drives we’ve tested or dismissed over the past 5 years, we researched dozens of new models before settling on the 11 drives to test for this update.

How we tested

First, we benchmarked the drives’ sequential and random speeds using CrystalDiskMark. We then ran two file-copy tests—one with a single 15 GB file, the other with a 13 GB folder containing thousands of small files—using Robocopy on Windows, formatting the drive between each type of test. We copied each folder to and from each drive three times, then averaged the results. We also ran one file copy test on Mac to make sure the transfer times on both platforms were similar. (They were.) Then, we plugged the drives into several devices, including a Samsung TV and PlayStation 4 to ensure different platforms recognized them.

We tested out any drives’ sliding mechanisms and noted temperatures during file transfers using an infrared thermometer to make sure none got too hot. Finally, we created a bootable installer for macOS High Sierra and installed it on each of our final contenders to make sure they worked as bootable drives.

Buying Options

The 64 GB Kingston DataTraveler Elite G2 was the fastest and most reliable 64 GB drive in our real-world file transfer tests, and it usually costs less than $30. Its metal case feels more durable than the plastic cases of our other picks, and it has a handy blinking activity light, a feature many flash drives lack. Kingston’s five-year warranty is average for a flash drive, but is plenty for most people’s needs. The small cap that protects the USB plug is easy to lose, but USB-A connections are durable so it’ll work fine without it.

To test the drives’ real-world performance, we copied one 15 GB file to and from each drive. The DataTraveler had the fastest read speeds of the 64 GB models we tested at 186 MB/s. It was the second fastest at writing this large file with speeds of 76 MB/s, falling behind the SanDisk Extreme Go, which averaged 106 MB/s. But the Extreme Go was less consistent in our tests (more on that in the Competition section.) Running these tests on Mac yielded nearly identical results.

We also copied a 13 GB folder containing 2,418 small MP3 files from the SSD to the flash drive. The DataTraveler was the fastest drive in this test, averaging 54 MB/s. The closest competition, the SanDisk Ultra Flair, was 60 percent slower at 29 MB/s. For some context, this means the DataTraveler got the job done in just 4 minutes, while the Ultra Flair took about 7.5 minutes.

In CrystalDiskMark, the DataTraveler Elite G2 had the fastest speeds of the 64 GB drives we tested, with average sequential read and write speeds of 240 MB/s and 96 MB/s, respectively. The Samsung Bar Plus had the second fastest read speeds at 224 MB/s, and the SanDisk Extreme Go had the second fastest write speeds at 63 MB/s.

The DataTraveler Elite’s metal case makes it the sturdiest drive we tested, and it has a handy keychain loop. The DataTraveler Elite’s blue indicator light blinks rapidly when the drive is in use, and when the drive isn’t active the light remains off. We prefer this to the Extreme Go’s indicator light, which pulses on and off, or “breathes,” when the drive is inactive. Unlike the wider SanDisk Extreme Go, the DataTraveler didn’t block adjacent ports on any of the many laptops and USB hubs we tested it with.

The Kingston drive gets warm after a few minutes of file transfers, but never too hot to touch. The hottest temperature we recorded was around 108 °F when transfering files to and from a MacBook with a USB-C adapter, but it was much cooler on Windows, measuring 90 °F. The DataTraveler Elite was around 10 degrees hotter than the Extreme Go and Fit Plus, but not as hot as the Samsung Bar Plus, which hit 110 °F. The DataTraveler’s operating temperature is rated up to 140 °F (PDF), so we don’t think the drive’s temperatures are an issue.
The DataTraveler Elite’s five-year warranty can’t match SanDisk’s lifetime warranty, but it’s the same amount Samsung provides, and it’s plenty of time to discover any issues with the drive. Because production issues can result in the oddball slow flash drive now and again, we recommend testing your drive as soon as you get it by copying a few files over. If the speeds seem slower than our tests, return it to the retailer while you can.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The DataTraveler’s plastic removable cap keeps cruft out of the drive’s USB port, but within a week we thought we’d lost it, only to find it near the bottom of a bag days later. A tethered cap would solve this problem.

Buying Options

If you care more about size or you need a small, semi-permanent drive that can stay plugged into a computer, get the 128 GB Samsung Fit Plus. It’s especially useful for adding storage to computers with small solid-state drives, though it’ll be slower than an internal drive. For less than $40, you get 128 GB of storage in a sturdy thumbnail-sized case that barely sticks out of a laptop. It’s the fastest thumbnail drive we tested, and one of the fastest high-capacity drives we tested overall, at least for reads.

The Fit Plus’ large file read speed was the fastest of any drive we tested at 292 MB/s, but its write average fared far worse at 39 MB/s. Those write speeds were still much faster than the Fit Plus’ closest competition, the thumbnail-sized SanDisk Ultra Fit, but were downright sluggish compared to the 128 GB SanDisk Extreme Go’s 96 MB/s. If you frequently transfer large files between computers, you’ll want faster write speeds than the Fit Plus can provide. Take a look at the Extreme Go, below.

If you frequently transfer large files between computers, you’ll want faster write speeds than the Fit Plus can provide.

The Fit Plus was also the fastest thumbnail drive in in our small file test, averaging 200 MB/s in our small file read test and 38 MB/s in our small file write test. The SanDisk Ultra Fit had a 107 MB/s read speed and an abysmal 12 MB/s small file write speed.

In CrystalDiskMark, the Fit Plus was the fastest 128 GB drive we tested, with the best sequential read speed of 277 MB/s and the second-best sequential write speed of 57 MB/s. Read speeds are especially important if you use the Fit Plus as extra storage because you’ll be reading data from the drive far more often than writing new data to it.

The Fit Plus is a few millimeters larger than most thumbnail drives, which are usually around the size of the USB dongle included with some wireless mice. Even though it’s tiny, the Fit Plus has a loop to attach it to a keychain, like our other picks, but it lacks an indicator light. The highest temperature we recorded on the Fit Plus was 97 °F, which was normal for all the drives we tested. Samsung offers the same five-year warranty period as Kingston.

Buying Options

If you frequently move large files between computers and need more storage space than our top pick, get the 128 GB SanDisk Extreme Go. It had the fastest write speeds of the 128 GB drives we tested, and quick read speeds, too. And at under $50, it’s about the same price as the other 128 GB drives we considered. The Extreme Go’s sliding mechanism helps keep the plug in good shape over time, and SanDisk offers a lifetime warranty.

In real-world tests, the Extreme Go had the fastest write speeds of the 128 GB drives we tested, making it ideal for transferring large files between computers. In our large file write tests, the Extreme Go averaged a blazing fast 96 MB/s; the closest competition in this test was the Samsung Fit Plus at 39 MB/s. The Extreme Go averaged 37 MB/s in our small file write tests, just as fast as the Samsung Fit Plus, but slower than the lower-capacity Kingston.

The 128 GB Extreme Go’s real-world read speeds were respectable, averaging 170 MB/s for the large file and 139 MB/s for small files. Those speeds are much slower than the 128 GB Samsung Bar Plus, which averaged 266 MB/s for the large file and 234 MB/s for small files. The Extreme Go was also slower than the Samsung Fit Plus’s 200 MB/s for small files and 292 MB/s for the one large file. But because these other drives have much slower write speeds, they’re not as useful as the Extreme Go for frequent large file transfers.

Though the 64 GB model of the SanDisk Extreme Go was inconsistent and unreliable in our real-world tests, which you can read more about in the Competition section, we didn’t have the same problems with the 128 GB model.

The Extreme Go’s chunky case is a snug fit in some laptops with close USB ports. But its retractable design is handy, and the USB connector slides in and out and locks into place with a satisfying click. Still, I accidentally retracted it when plugging the drive into a port because my thumb naturally pressed down on the sliding button.

The Extreme Go’s sliding plug means you don’t have any pieces to lose. Video: Kyle Fitzgerald

Like the DataTraveler, the Extreme Go has an indicator light that blinks when the drive is active. Unlike the DataTraveler, which goes dark when it’s inactive, the light on the Extreme Go “breathes” when it’s plugged in, which can be a distraction. The Extreme Go also has a handy keychain loop, like our other picks.

When copying files or running an OS install of High Sierra on Mac, the Extreme Go reached 99 °F, which is similar to the temperatures we experienced on the DataTraveler and Fit Plus. The Extreme Go’s lifetime warranty is the best out there, beating out Samsung’s and Kingston’s five-year warranties.

The competition

We’ve dismissed hundreds of models of flash drives over the years, including several that are still available, like the PNY Pro Elite, which was slow and poorly built, the SanDisk Extreme Pro, which was fast but too expensive, and the PNY Elite X, which had write speeds as low as 5 MB/s. For our 2018 update, we looked at a handful of newer drives.

The SanDisk Extreme Go 64 GB was our previous runner-up, but in this round of testing we found inconsistent results in our small file write tests. Out of the box, the Extreme Go started with the fastest speeds of 67 MB/s; yet every file copy after yielded slower and slower results, eventually bottoming out at 5 MB/s. Even when reformatting the drive between every test, we had the same problem on multiple Windows computers and a Mac. We purchased and tested a second drive (in case the first was a lemon) but got the same results. We reached out to SanDisk for comment, but they haven’t figured out a reason for this behavior, saying, “The SanDisk engineering team was unable to replicate these results with similar devices and test scenarios. We have not heard of other performance issues from customer care, which leads us to believe that this is an isolated issue.” Still, this was enough to eliminate it, because none of the other drives we tested under the same conditions had the same problem.

Both the 64 GB and 128 GB models of the SanDisk Ultra Flair had mediocre speeds in our tests (around half the speed of their competitors), and their plastic cases felt cheap. They do cost about half as much as our main pick, so they’re an option if you need a reliable flash drive from a reputable brand and don’t care about speed.

Both the 64 GB and 128 GB Samsung Bar Plus had some of the fastest read speeds in our real-world tests and benchmarks, but suffered from poor write speeds, especially in the big file write tests. The Bar Plus comes in a durable metal case, but we found the connectors were a smidge too large for most USB ports, which meant we had to really cram the drives in. The metal case also got hotter than other drives we tested, hitting 110 °F when connected to a Mac with a dongle.

The thumbnail-sized 128 GB SanDisk Ultra Fit is a bit cheaper than the Samsung Fit Plus, but its read and write times were so slow we can’t recommend it—its small file write speed was just 12 MB/s.

SanDisk’s 64 GB Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C has a USB-A connector on one end and a USB-C connection on the other, making it easy (in theory) to move files between different generations of computers. In practice, the drive was slow, averaging 9 MB/s in our small file write tests, and 21 MB/s in our large file write tests. You’re better off buying one of our picks and a Type-C adapter.

The SanDisk Ultra USB Type-C also had extremely slow transfer speeds, including a worst overall 8 MB/s small file write speed. And very few people physically move files between USB-C only computers, so for now most people are better off with our picks and a USB-C adapter.